The International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) is the governing body of competitive water skiing throughout the world. The IWSF specifically defines the objective of the slalom event as: “The contestant shall follow the towboat through the entrance gate of the slalom course, pass around the outside of any or all six buoys and proceed through the far end gate.” FIG. 1 illustrates a water ski slalom course 100. A dotted line shows a centerline of the slalom course 100, which may be an expected path 110 of the towboat. A solid line shows an expected path 120 of a skier pulled by the towboat. Buoys 130 (marked in FIG. 1 by circles) including pre-gate buoys, entry gate buoys, guide buoys, turn buoys, and exit gate buoys mark paths the towboat and skier are required to navigate through the slalom course 100. For example, the towboat is required to navigate as close to the centerline as possible between the entry gate buoys, the guide buoys, and the exit gate buoys. Also, the skier is required to enter between the entry gate buoys, navigate outside the turn buoys, and exit between the exit gate buoys. The pre-gate buoys may be provided for the convenience of the driver of the towboat and the skier.
When a skier successfully navigates the slalom course 100, he or she has completed a pass. If a skier completes a pass, then the skier challenges himself or herself further by: (1) increasing the boat speed by a predefined amount, or (2) shortening the rope by some predetermined amount. A skier will continue to challenge himself or herself with the previous two options until he or she finds the limit of his or her ability. A skier will normally run anywhere from four to eight passes before tiring.
The current method for boat steering control is by a human driver. The ability to properly drive a boat, in terms of slalom driving, is a skill itself. If one wants to drive a sanctioned waterski tournament, then it is usually required that he or she have a driver's rating. Ratings are acquired by successfully completing driving clinics. Actual invitations to drive at tournaments are only given to those who have both the required rating and a positive reputation. The types of people who receive invitations to drive at tournaments are usually those who have been involved with the sport for anywhere from years to decades. Despite the restrictions set by the IWSF and efforts of tournament coordinators to ensure high quality veteran drivers, the drivers are still human. A human driver may suffer from distractions, boredom, and fatigue, which may inhibit performance. When a boat driver's performance suffers, a skier's performance may also suffer due to both physical and psychological issues associated with low quality boat driving.
Also, a boat driver's non-compliant performance may disqualify the skier's performance. If the boat path 110 deviates from the center line of the slalom course 100, then the skier may have an unfair advantage or disadvantage. When a skier completes a pass that may constitute a world record, the boat path of all passes in the set may be reviewed. A record may only be accepted if all boat path deviations in all passes of the set fall within the allowable tolerances set by the IWSF. In some cases, records are rejected due to an out of tolerance boat path.